Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

 What a strange time we are all passing through. I think nobody was expecting that suddenly the whole living styles we got used to for decades, would change, in one day. We couldn't expect, because we were all doing our things, making plans for ourselves, without realizing the fact, whatever we think about the future, it chooses its own path. Anything unexpected can start, and end in one day. I wasn't expecting to spend my period of pandemic in Romania. It was around this time last year, after graduating from my master's degree on ceramics, when I was thinking of doing the things I love for some time, without rushing. Because for a really long time I was busy with studying and working. I did 2 student exchanges in Europe between those years and they were the most important life events for me in that period. This longing of good times made me think of volunteering, to be in Europe again. I traveled a lot, thanks to my previous job, but spending some days in foreign cities wa

August started with an unbearably hot weather - and less restrictions with the pandemic. We had already adapted to the situation, and were going on our project somehow. Everything was fine. We entered the month with the online Mid-Term Training. For 5 days, from 10.00 to 14.00 we were in front of the computer again, this time with less people in the Zoom room. The interesting fact was that our whole house was in the same training group, which let us share a computer from time to time. It was fun, but we were a bit disappointed, because all of us would like to meet as more different people as we can. Well, it was a nice meeting anyway. The topics were interesting and the group atmosphere was fine. Also, it was great to see the other volunteers again, even in the small screens. The second week started busy, after the whole week of training, we got back to the youth center and kept preparing our laboratories - 4 different workshops for children with the help of our amazing local volunteer

It was the 5th month of stay in this “Beautiful City” and I was feeling belonged more and more, everyday. It was a good coincidence that we started the month, planning the “20 beautiful things” project. It was a project about 20 things we found beautiful in Târgu Frumos. The definition of beauty changes from one person to another, so it was exciting to wait for the results from my colleagues. 20 works of photography, videos, music and ceramics. We started working on it.     Meanwhile, the open call for local volunteers to help us during the project resulted. On the very first week of July, we met those amazing eight girls, coming from Târgu Frumos and other cities. We organized a welcome meeting, with activities and plannings of our workshops. Each international member of Arts Lab made a team and we easily planned out our workshop program. With their help, we started having local kids and teenagers every week.   My workshops started happening in the ceramic studio we recently made. Eve

Let me tell you a story. It was the month June of that year, the weather just started to get warmer and warmer everyday. I could feel the change in my small room, it was quite unbearable to stay inside and impossible to sleep. Well, we could say that summer has come.  After a beautiful and unpredictable month, I was quite excited for the beginning of a new one. I knew that something amazing is going to happen and help me achieve one of my goals: Learning how to manage an art studio. Because I always wanted to be an independent artist, creating in my small studio, managing the advertising part and reaching a lot of people. It happened, with small steps. After having discussions with Mihaela about renewing the old youth center and turning it to a ceramic studio, we started preparing. First, we bought the materials we will need there: Clay, shaping materials, glaze, pigments and the ceramic kiln- that huge oven to ‘cook’ the ceramics and make them strong enough to stand for ages. I rememb

Cold May. Unpredictable, full of surprises, meanwhile, amazingly beautiful. Every passing day is a proof of something we ignore while we are blindly rushing through daily life. It is called, "coincidence". Every second, there are million possibilities to change our way, the path we are on, our lives. Sometimes ignoring only one word can drag us to a completely different situation. That's the main thought I discovered this month. Letting things happen. The days of May were full of events. First difference was writing an EU project, which was the first experience for all the team. With the encouragement of Mihaela, we started to think, design, and write a Youth Exchange. It was quite hard in the beginning, but later on it turned a great team work, and a new experience. After writing my masters thesis, I wasn't expecting to be into research, fitting into writing plans, and spending time in front of the computer the whole day. Well, I think it won't be true if I say I

Well, time passes. It's the natural rule of the universe, and none of us humans are able to change it. The only thing we can do is to adapt ourselves to the unimaginable schedule of time.  My second month passed as well. Days have become longer, the season changed, the nature' passion for development has become more clear. I also developed... well, this is not a surprise. I am part of nature.  It was a strange month, nothing seemed to happen, but so many things happened. I changed a lot.  It started like the previous month, I was in isolation with my 3 housemates. We were continuing the tasks which Mihaela gave us, trying to be productive and reach as many people as possible. I kept creating the menu for the youth center cafeteria, and drawing other things on my computer. I can safely say that I wasn't enjoying digital drawing so much before, but I figured out it was only lack of practice. More I draw on the computer, the more I like it. This was a new discovery about me, t

Here I am, at the end of my first month in Romania. I don’t know if I should call it an unlucky period rather than a lucky one, but I won’t. Because I’ve been helped a lot by many beautiful people during this global crisis. Let’s begin, then. I arrived in Romania at the beginning of March. I’ve been in many European countries before, but it would be my first experience with this country and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Right after my arrival, the warm atmosphere showed me that I made a good choice to come here. On my first day, I could feel the hospitality from various people who helped me a lot during my bus trip from Bucharest to Târgu Frumos, and when I arrived in this beautiful town I absolutely loved it! I met Mihaela, my project coordinator and the co-volunteers, Hanul, Omar and Eliana. On our second day, we went out - it wasn’t an emergency situation yet and since I arrived from Turkey I didn’t need to stay in quarantine. We went for a treasure hunt and discovered

I was born near the sea, in a windy autumn day. Since then, I’ve been addicted to that big beautiful blueness, embodied also in my name. I am always exploring different dreams. I’m like the water, changing every day. I lived in many different cities, met with people from all around the world, but my best place in the world is the shore. I feel there much more grounded rather than any place in the world. It’s not surprising that I’ve chosen art for my major interest. The artists are the craziest, but also the most brave people. I’m trying to explore different ways of art for expression. I’m sure my journey in this is something that will never end. #storiesofvolunteers #artslab #europeansolidaritycorps #meetourvolunteers #supertineri #asirys Arts Lab 2.0 is a project funded by European Solidarity Corps, with the support of European Union.